


Extremes

by kittleimp



Series: Little Birds and Laughter [3]
Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: Love at First Sight, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-18
Updated: 2014-09-18
Packaged: 2018-02-17 22:13:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2325038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kittleimp/pseuds/kittleimp
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Isaac Ramirez was never one to show extremes. That wasn’t to say he didn’t have them, but they were saved for the privacy of his apartment in the hours after the sun had faded. He carefully carved an image for himself as he continued his work. Tough. Dedicated. Loyal. Cheerful. All of the things that a good employee was expected to be.</p>
<p>All of that went out the window when he saw Kevin.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Extremes

Isaac Ramirez was never one to show extremes. It didn’t matter what they were. Emotions were held close to his heart, shielded from the rough hands of the world. His passions and beliefs were hidden as well. That wasn’t to say he didn’t have extremes, but they were saved for the privacy of his apartment in the hours after the sun had faded.

It was a weapon, in a way, and he used it carefully. He learned everything from the correctors when he was first hired. Their faces remained blank as he handed them the tools, so he mirrored them, hiding both his horrendous disgust and delighted interest in their actions. The screams sent shivers down his spine, but he shook his head and continued to reach for scalpels and prods.

He carefully carved an image for himself as he continued his work. Tough. Dedicated. Loyal. Cheerful. All of the things that a good employee was expected to be. That’s what raised him to his position as the head of his department, what brought the CEO to befriend him, and that’s the method he stuck to.

All of that went out the window when he saw Kevin. Beautiful, perfect Kevin with a bright voice and sharp tongue. He was a problem for them. The citizens of the town turned the radio on at night and let his words seep into their mind, turning them against enlightenment and improvement. No matter how much they strangled that small station, his message escaped. So they squeezed tighter.

He might choke at first, but Kevin would be happy in the end. It was a promise. In no time, Strex would have him singing and chirping like the little bird he was meant to be. Isaac wanted to be there with him when he resurfaced as an improved worker, a little bird with a sweeter voice. It was beyond help. The CEO saw the unfamiliar flicker of emotion and gave him a pat on the shoulder.

“I’ll keep you updated,” she said with a smile as they passed in the halls.

He cursed himself. Cursed her. Praised Kevin, that frowning rebel with the Voice that threatened to burn them all to the ground. They would have to correct him. It was always a kind correction, even if it didn’t feel very kind at first. Kevin would thank them. It was for the best. So Isaac kept his distance and toyed with the animals in the lab, perfecting their newest method of genetic modification while the clock ticked on the small, hopeless rebellion.

On the same day that he sent in his report, the CEO sent word that Kevin was due to be _picked up._ He arrived in her office not ten minutes later and settled into his usual plush chair. She looked up from her laptop and moved it to the side, rolling her chair closer to the large desk between them. The sun filtering through the white curtains lit her face. A Smiling God, indeed.

“Kevin’s rebellion is failing,” she explained. “I’m sending suits to him during his show tonight.”

“I want to go,” he said.

“Of course you do, Isaac, and you will. Someone has to escort him. You’ll wait in the limousine and travel with him to the correctional facility. You can assist in that as well, if you’d like to. I know you have the experience-”

“No, I don’t want to hurt him,” he interrupted. She raised her eyebrows and tilted her head.

“You know it has to happen, right?” she asked.

“Of _course_ it has to happen, we have to hurt him in order to help him,” Isaac said, echoing learned words as he hides a frown behind a smile. “That’s different than laying my own hands on him or handing someone the tools.”

“Are you sure you’re alright? I’ve never seen you so concerned about harming someone.” It was all honest concern, all caring words, but he still shook his head.

“Renata, you know that I’m fine. Imagine if someone were to hand you tools and tell you to beat your wife.”

“That’s different-” she began to protest, only to be interrupted.

“You love her and wouldn’t want to hurt her,” he said. “It is just the same, even if we aren’t truly in a relationship.”

After a pause of consideration, the CEO nodded slowly. Her hair shifts, falling over her shoulder as she scribbles down a quick note.

“You will be there to pick him up, but you won’t be part of the correction team,” she said and smiled at him across the desk. “You’ll head over fifteen minutes before the show. Good luck.”

 

He waited in the limousine, listening to the radio play tortured screams and pleas for mercy. It was a bittersweet noise. The death of a rebellion and the life of a new age, but he had hoped not to hear Kevin scream himself bloody. Or rather, scream himself bloody while already covered in blood.

When Isaac looked up from his hands, the door to the limousine was being wrenched open. Kevin falls forward, face torn and smeared with red. His heart skipped in his chest and any thought-out speeches flew from his head.

_Talk, you worthless bastard,_ he urged himself.

“Kevin, how wonderful to see you!” he said with a shaking smile. “I’ve had my eye on you for quite some time, my troublesome _pajarito._ ”

He reached down, unsure of where to touch. What could be of comfort in a time like this? Nothing, truly, but his hand brushed through brown locks as the driver pulls away from the station. Kevin’s hair was just as soft as he imagined. Blood stained his hands, but he continued to massage gently.

“We can put all of this behind us now,” he said softly, hoping to ease his worry. “You are mine as I will be yours. I only ask one thing of you.”

“What?” Kevin asked brokenly, wincing and shaking. Isaac hummed and circled his thumb over the poor man’s temple. In the privacy of the limousine, he even frowned just a little bit.

“ _Cantar por mí, pajarito. Por favor._ Can you do that for me?”

Kevin looked up to him, tears running through the blood and dripping into the new cuts across his cheeks. His third eye was already sewn shut and swollen. He was the perfect picture of torture and defeat and for once, Isaac couldn’t stand to see it.

“Yes,” he whispered through a sob.

Isaac coaxed him onto the seat, letting Kevin’s head rest in his lap as he continued to play with his hair. Kevin was shaking fully now, crying softly. His hand held onto Isaac’s knee with fading strength. The scientist rested a hand over it when it became too loose, startling Kevin back to awareness.

The limousine stopped and more suits opened the door, reaching in for Kevin. Isaac helped him stand on shaking legs and guided him to the waiting hands. He would not be following. The correctors would help his little bird, but to help there must first be hurt. He would not hurt Kevin. Instead, Isaac would help him recover once they were finished.

“Dr. Ramirez, where would you like to go?” the driver asked.

“He would like to go home,” the CEO said as she slid into the seat next to him. “Is it okay if I join you?”

“Of course, Renata,” he said with a smile. In truth, he would have preferred to rub Kevin’s blood off of his hands in peace, but she was a friend. She would not judge him harshly.

“You’re struggling with this, I can tell. He’s different to you than the other men you’ve dated,” she said.

Different than the others, what an understatement. Kevin was a god where the rest were simply men. He didn’t take interest in Kevin out of lust or boredom, not that his reasons were always so cold and harsh. The difference was impossible to place into words. The others were simply others and Kevin was so magnificently... Kevin.

“Don’t forget to respect him, Isaac.”

“What do you mean?” he asked, looking over to her.

“I mean that you hold him up high and see him as some sort of perfect being. He can never meet those standards.”

He glanced to where she sat against the dark interior of the car. Just with a glance, She didn’t look like she was judging him. She was relaxed, sensible heels halfway off and blazer unbuttoned, revealing her phone tucked into the waistband of her pencil skirt. Her face was soft, drawn, almost... concerned?

“That’s a good point,” he said. “I’m going to have to think about that for a while.”

“I hope you do,” she replied and patted his knee.

They sat in a comfortable silence until they reached his building. He climbed out of the limousine and waved them off before wandering into his apartment with her words still rolling in his head. The sun painted the city as red as his hands, letting him watch through his enormous windows. A feeling swelled in him, a bizarre one that he couldn’t put a name to. It was hope, but something beyond that. Trust? Belief? Happiness? More than all of those. 

It was _beautiful._

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks to rosecat13 and blatantlyqueer for the help and thank you all for reading! I'm [kittlimp](http://kittleimp.tumblr.com) on tumblr, come to say hello!


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